For pretty much all of the first half, it looked as though Week 8 against Miami would mirror the dreadful finish in the Week 7 loss to the Jets as the offense could get nothing going, the Dolphins were running through the injury-depleted defensive front and Tom Brady’s hand had swelled up to the size of a balloon. Patriots Nation was certainly frustrated for a bit as their team found themselves down 17-3 at halftime, before Brady, doing all he could to keep his throwing hand functioning, led them back in the second half for the 27-17 win with 24 unanswered points despite not picking up a first down until the final minute of the first quarter.

We can skip the majority of the first half lowlights, like Brady getting picked on his first attempt while throwing for only 25 yards, and just give the ugly particulars. A Brandon Gibson reception after three third-down conversions and a Daniel Thomas run put the ‘Phins up, 14-0, just five minutes into the second and rookie kicker Caleb Sturgis made it 17-3 before the half, but it was his miss in the third quarter, after the Patriots had gone three-and-out with just a miserable drive, that gave the home team some momentum back. Dont’a Hightower sacked Ryan Tannehill on third down and Sturgis’ kick hit the upright from 46 yards away.

Granted, she came at him but the big Orc could have easily pushed her away instead of rearranging her face.

The authorities are investigating the incident:

Paschke was questioned after the incident by New Jersey State Police. Asked if Paschke will be charged with a crime, a spokesman declined to comment on the case beyond saying they are “aware of the video and the incident is under investigation.”

Paschke has had a spot of trouble with the law before. In 2011, he was busted for serving drinks to minors.

Yep this looks like creeper that would try to seduce young women with liquor.

UPDATE:

Bartender served 3 years for fatal stabbing behind pizza parlor in 1990s. He was caught on camera this weekend hitting a woman after the Jets/Patriots game. Cops have now ‘gone to the tapes’ of the Sunday fight at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey.

Jets Kicker Nick Folk is a lucky guy. He missed what would have been a career long, 56 yard field goal and would have given the Patriots the ball around midfield in overtime. But thanks to a penalty call on the Patriots, Chris Jones, the Jets were given 15 yards, and Folk made a 42 yard field goal to give the Jets a 30-27 victory over the Patriots at MetLife Stadium.

Nick Folk hits the GW Field Goal in OT

The unsportsmanlike penalty on Jones was called because he pushed a teammate into the offense formation during a field goal try. That rule was just implemented this season, and it was the first time EVER it was called. The Patriots can’t blame the whole game on that one penalty because they let chances in this game slip away.

After tying the game on a 44 yard field goal from Stephen Gostkowski with 16 seconds left in regulation, they won the coin toss before the start of overtime and were unable to score, and punted the ball to the Jets that set up the New York winning drive.

During the Patriots final drive that tied the game in regulation, Tom Brady overthrew Tight End, Austin Collie in the endzone that would have given the Patriots the lead with under 30 seconds to play. Instead they had to settle for the game tying field goal.

After falling down 7-0 after the first drive of the game, the Patriots put together a drive of their own to tie the game, and on the ensuing drive, Patriots Cornerback Logan Ryan, picked off Jets Quarterback Geno Smith, and returned it 79 yards for the pick six that gave the Patriots a 14-7 lead.

The Patriots took a 21-10 lead into halftime, but when they came out in the 2nd half they looked completely lost on the field. After Brady was sacked on the first play of the half, he threw a pick six to Jets defender Antonio Allen at the Jets 27 yard line. That was Tom Brady’s only touchdown pass of the game.

The Jets kept the pressure on Brady, and he was unable to do much with the offense in the 2nd half and the Jets took a 27-21 lead in the 3rd quarter. The Patriots got a field goal from Gostkowski 1:30 into the 4th quarter to cut the deficit to 3 points.

Brady was sacked 4 times in the game, losing 23 total yards on those plays. He completed just 22 of 46 pass attempts while throwing 1 interception. Geno Smith was 17-33 with one touchdown and one interception and was the better quarterback in the game.

The game was also big because it was the much anticipated return of Rob Gronkowski, who hadn’t played in a game since week 17 last year. Gronk lead all receivers in the game with 8 receptions and 114 yards, and it was clear Brady appreciated having Gronk back on the field. Not only was Gronk a threat on offense but it also opened up the field for Brady to hit his other receivers.

The loss ends the Patriots 12 game winning streak against AFC East opponents as they prepare for a divisional matchup next week against the Miami Dolphins at Gillette Stadium.

Bill Belichick’s post-game press conferences seldom yield any valuable information. It’s an annoying trend as Belichick possesses and can share significant insights into the sport he has a mastery of.

As the injury-riddled New England Patriots prepare to face the New York Jets at 1 p.m. on Sunday, Belichick inadvertently revealed his thoughts on all of the new players being worked into the team’s regular rotation with a seemingly innocuous comment to CSNNE.com’s Mary Paoletti. Bill was specifically replying to a question on newcomer Austin Collie and observed:

I mean, they’re never 100 percent ready. But there’s a difference between being ready and when you put the person in there and feel like, well there’s just too many things that can and probably will go wrong because they’re just not prepared enough for those…It’s certainly a very individualized type of call and I don’t think there’s any book on that. You just have to try to figure it out the best you can.

I’m focused on the “never 100 percent ready” comment, and I’m expanding the context of it beyond new players – veterans and rookies, alike – to injured veterans returning to the field and reserves switching roles to account for injuries, and starters changing positions. With the many injuries sapping the Patriots depth through six games, the concept of new players is at a premium in Foxboro.

Yes, Rob Gronkowski is available, or “cleared” by some doctor. Will he play? Who knows? Say he plays. What do we get? A fully Gronk’ed Gronk, or a timid, nervous Gronk who really isn’t ready but needs to see some action? Is he even in game shape after reportedly dominating practices? He has had success versus the Jets. Who hasn’t?

Collie made two key grabs in the Saints win. Kenbrell Thompkins isn’t really a replacement at all. However, he seems to be getting it now – finally. Did he “figure it out” in time to make his mark?

The real replacement match-ups to focus on are on the defense that could be without the squad’s top three players. Vince Wilfork we know about. Ditto for Jerod Mayo. Aqib Talib didn’t travel to New Jersey with the team. How do you fill those three holes?

McCourty could be playing corner at some point, too. But, he and Ninkovich taking a more pronounced role as captains is a significant match-up type issue. Players like Dane Fletcher, Alfonzo Dennard, Kyle Arrington, and draftees Jamie Collins and Logan Ryan need to take advantage of bigger roles due to injuries.

The Patriots continue to surprise the NFL Sunday after Sunday. Last week, with half of Gillette Stadium leaving early to catch the Sox, New England executed a 70-yard game-winning touchdown drive in 73 seconds (with no timeouts) to stun the undefeated Saints on national television. Despite all the injuries and lack of chemistry on offense, the Pats are making just enough plays to remain at the top of the AFC East at (5-1).

Pro Bowl LB Jerod Mayo joined Vince Wilfork on the IR after tearing his right pectoral muscle, ending his season abruptly after surgery on Wednesday. The quarterback of the defense, New England loses their leading tackler (55 total tackles) and most consistent every down player. Furthermore, CB Aqib Talib reinjured his left hip (limited in practice today) and DT Tommy Kelly banged up his right knee. How will the Patriots respond and progress? It starts with leadership. DB Devin McCourty and DE Rob Ninkovich were announced as defensive captains for the remainder of the season earlier this afternoon.

Although a few Patriots went down last week, one piece to puzzle is slated to make his overdue return. All parties; Patriots staff, Drew Rosenhaus, doctors, scientists, conspiracy theorists and even a promotional video have finally cleared TE Rob Gronkowski to link up with Brady and get #BackToSuper. Boasting a career (18-4) regular-season record against the New York Jets, TB12 and crew look to grind out another victory in Metlife Stadium at 1:00. Check out these three keys to victories for New England:

1) Score Touchdowns: An elementary goal for all teams in the NFL, the Patriots continue to struggle in the Red Zone scoring just 9 touchdowns in 22 trips – good for 30th in the NFL. The silver lining under this struggle is the reemergence of Stevan Ridley last week. After missing the sloppy Bengals game, Ridley commanded the lion’s share of carries last week posting a 20 carry, 96 yards and 2 TD game. Stevan pounded it over the goal line from one and four yards out. After displaying his “breakaway speed” in Atlanta, LeGarrette Blount has not found the same success against Cincy and gained a measly 9 yards on 7 carries against New Orleans. We all know Brady found Kenbrell Thompkins from 17 yards out; however, K Stephen Gostowski is tied for the lead with 16 FGM out of 17 FGA. The accuracy is great but the attempts need to disappear in turn for more six spots. Getting the Gronk back will certainly improve these statistics. No Amendola will not.